Trade Associations Must Stay Focused on Trade and Industry, Not Politics: UNISAME

President UNISAME, Zulfikar Thaver, said that trade associations exist to serve the collective economic interests of their members — including advocacy on taxation, tariffs, energy costs, ease of doing business, exports, and access to finance. “The moment an association starts taking sides in political disputes, it loses its most valuable asset: its credibility as a neutral, technical voice that every government, regardless of party, can engage with,” he said.

He noted that the business community is itself diverse in its political affiliations, and any association that leans toward a particular political position risks dividing its own membership and undermining the unity needed to negotiate effectively with policymakers and regulators.

Thaver emphasized that this does not mean associations should be silent on government policy. “Commenting on a budget, a tax measure, an energy tariff, or a trade agreement is squarely within our mandate — because these directly affect industry and trade. What is not our mandate is commentary on party politics, elections, or personalities. That is a line every association should hold firmly,” he said.

UNISAME which is an SME forum has urged trade bodies to reaffirm this principle in their own charters and conduct, so that the business community can speak with one, credible, non-partisan voice on the issues that matter most to SMEs and the wider economy — growth, employment, exports, and investment.